Sicktionary: S

Safety Bar [Saph-tee Bahr] noun: A lowerable bar which provides people riding a chairlift a barrier to falling off. Some states, mainly in the eastern United States, have laws mandating their use. Also known as a retention bar.

Safety Gate [Saph-tee Gait] noun: A gate located at the top of a chair, which will cause the lift to stop when tripped. Used to keep beginners and anyone else foolish enough not to unload from traveling back down the hill on the chair.

Safety Meeting [Sayf-Tee Me-ting] noun: A gathering of employees meant to spend time discussing safe workplace practices, but often re- sulting in throwing the boss off your trail long enough to light up some of the “Devil’s Dandelions,” always leading to further caution being exercised on the job.

Safety Trick (Sahf-t Trihk) noun: A rider’s most comfortable move. Often thrown when guinea-pigging a feature or in other sketchy situations. Safety tricks are in no way stock tricks, as oftentimes a rider will have rodeos and other hammers in their safety repertoire.

Same Way [sam wa] noun: Rotating out of a rail in the natural direction that your body spins. Example: A backside 270 out of a frontside boardslide.

SBX: The reason why this offshoot of snowboarding isn’t called by its true identity is that Peak Productions trademarked the name Boardercross® in the early nineties. In other words, the Olympics have Snowboard Cross, the X Games have Snowboarder X, and Peak Productions doesn’t have shit. This means that SBX is what you call anything that involves snowboarders pretending to be skiers pretending to be supercrossers. (It would still be amazing if Palmer makes the 2010 Olympic Snowboard Cross team.)

Sciseau [Sizz-oh] noun: Whatever crooked trick somebody does, or if you came off too early.

Seatbelt [seet-belt] noun With your leading hand, reach across your lap and grab tail. Just like riding in the car next to a cute girl.

Session (Sesh-in) noun: When one or more riders are focused on hitting a single feature, wall, jump, joint, rail, or pro ho.

Setup Trick [She-tuhp Trihl] noun: Any move which enables the rider to approach the next wall, jump, or rail in line for a better trick. Setup tricks are usually less notable than the ones they precede.

Shafted [Shaaf-tehd] verb: When someone tells you off and screws you over. For example, when you get caught poaching the liftline and have to pay, and are then told that you can’t ride after you pay. That is a royal “shafting.”

Sharking [Shahr-keeng] verb: Wading through a bar or club in search of the opposite sex. Visualize fin on head as one strolls through seeking out hot-and-heavy hookups. “Where did Jack go?” “He’s over there sharking.”

Shithook [Shiht-huuhk] verb: To tilt your snowmobile on its side and do donuts in powder. A classic redneck move, not to be confused with “highmarking.”

Shoot the Boot [Shuut thuh buuut] noun: Though its origins lie in rugby, “shooting the boot” has become a much-celebrated alpine tradition. Basically, the name says it all: An unlucky or adventurous soul is impelled to imbibe a ski or snowboard boot’s worth of libations, along with all the toe jam, toenails, lint, epidermis, used condoms, and other nastiness that comes out of it.

Shred [shred] verb To ride. Can also be used as shredded, shredder, shredding.

Sick [sik] adjective Used to describe terrain, tricks, equipment, and anything else that is righteous.

Sketchy [skech-ee] adjective Describes anything and everything, from avalanches to icy runways to ski town tramps, that can yield negative results when encountered.

Ski Lift [Skee Lihft] noun: Any people-mover which provides users a means to travel uphill. Different types can carry varying amounts of riders: doubles carry two, triples three, and quads four. Singles can carry only one skier at a time, because they are found at places like Mad River Glen- which don’t allow snowboarders, and therefore don’t get many visitors.

Skins [Skihnnz] noun: Essential to ski touring and mountaineering, “skins” were originally made out of actual seal skin, hence the name. Because of the seal’s slanted fur (or “nap”), it allowed the traverser to climb up a hill without sliding back down. Though most modern-day skins are composed of mohair, nylon, or plastic, skiers must still feel a stinging pang of guilt every time one of those innocent, doe-eyed, doughy rascals gets clubbed into a cuddly, coagulated pile of brain matter. This is why we should all boycott the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Go to olympicshame2010.com for the shocking truth. Seriously.

Skitch [Skihch] verb: Derived from skateboarding, “skitching” is when one holds on to the bumper of a car while it is moving, thus pulling said rider. Though it can be very entertaining, skitching can get sketchy, so exercise caution, stay off of crowded streets, and toss on a dome-piece to protect that noggin.

Skunked [Skuhnkd] adj: Used to describe any situation in which the outcome did not turn out as one had planned. A rider can be skunked by any number of situations: weather, bad snow conditions, the clap, ski- town sausage-fests, or a good ol’ Norwalk Flu. If it prevents one from riding, they got skunked. Getting skunked fucking stinks.

Slash [slah-sh] noun Digging in your edge in order to dump speed and throw up snow in any condition.

Sleeper Style [slee-per stahyl] adjective A riding style which is so calm and clean that the snowboarder appears to be asleep.

Slide [slahyd] noun The first stage of an avalanche.

Slough [sluhf] noun The snowpack which races down the fall line when a slope is unsettled as it is being ridden.

Slush [sluhsh] noun Snow which is in the advanced state of melting, causing it to retain large amounts of moisture.

Smith [smihth] adj: A skateboarding trick that snowboarders once thought they could do. It involves trucks (which we don’t have), so leave it alone, ladies and gents.

Snake (Snay-kuh): Someone that either steals your trick, your turn in line, your photo, your partner, dignity, etc. Alaska may be a shred heaven, but every Eden has a snake. Check the background guy—that photo will be the cover of some German shred mag in a couple months.

Snake Run [Snak-ruhn] noun: Taken from skateboarding, a Snake Run is any line that offers a plethora of winding hairpin corners with banked sides, allowing a rider the opportunity to pump the walls in order to maintain maximum velocity. Snake Runs are known to rattle one’s nerves.

Snow [snoh] noun Precipitation subjected to sub-freezing temperatures, causing it to take a frozen and flaky form. Different atmospheric and temperature variables affect the properties of the snow.

Snow-blindness [snoh-blahynd] adjective A visibility phenomena created by an over-exposure to low-contrast snowscapes. One’s depth perception becomes distorted and at times unreliable, causing sensory dementia.

Snowboard [snoh-bohrd] noun The platform riders use to descend a slope. Made primarily of wood and P-Tex, the board features an upturned nose and tail and an hourglass shape. Also known as a deck, stick, or board.

Snowcat [Snoh-Kaht] noun: Though this term has come to represent all snow-grooming machines, its origin is from the original Tucker Sno-Cat, which was trademarked in 1946. These tracked vehicles have become a modern ski-area necessity, and are routinely used for snow-sculpting, grooming, and general transportation.

Snowdrift [snÿ-drift] noun A mass of fresh snow drawn together by high winds.

Spatula [Spah-choo-luh] noun: What began as a barstool tangent by the late, great Shane McConkey turned into the ski that launched the reverse-camber revolution in snowboarding. By taking the concepts of surfing and waterskiing and translating them to snow, the Volant Spatula may have been designed for tackling the pow on two planks, but its pedigree can be found under the feet of anyone rocking a rocker

Split Board [Spliht Bord] noun: A traditional snowboard, split vertically that can transform into skis when the bindings are rotated 90°. Traction-enabling skins allow the board, when split, to move forward but not backward, making the hike up steep terrain much easier.

Spork [Spohrk] noun: A tool used when hand work is being performed on a feature, a “spork” is comprised of a long, metal handle and a “head” with “groomer teeth” that rake snow and can also move small amounts of it for finish work; a necessary tool for building teams and terrain park crews.

Soul Boarder [soul-bord-er] noun A person who rides for the spiritual aspects of snowboarding. They avoid all the amenities afforded to the modern snowboarder including lift access, shampoo, deodorant, snowboard parks, and Lady Bic razors.

Spotting (Spa-ting): Looking down in the middle of your trick to find your landing. Spotting on your genitalia is not as beneficial to your health.

Stalefish [steyl fish] noun Grabbing the heel edge between the bindings with the trailing hand by reaching behind one’s legs.

Stair [staer] noun: A way of measuring and conveying the length of a rail by counting the number of stairs underneath it. Not to be confused with the “thousand- yard stare,” which was a term used to describe Vietnam vets who spent too many tours sessioning with Charlie. Too boucoup, too boucoup.

Stall [stahl] noun Pausing any action while riding, whether it be a jib trick, handplant, etc.

Stance [stans] noun The preferred direction a rider faces. Goofy is a right-foot-forward bias and regular is a left-foot-bias.

Steeze [steez] adjective The style of riding, attitude, and clothing that a person displays.

Stem Christie [Stehm Krihss-tee] noun: The Stem Christie is a beginner’s turning technique named after Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, where parallel turns were called Kristianiasving. When executing the maneuver, a skier starts with parallel skis, then “stems” (slows down) the outer ski, and finishes by sliding the inner ski back into a parallel position.

Step-Up [step uhp] noun A terrain aspect that has a takeoff which Is noticeably lower than its landing.

Step-over [Stehp ohvur] adj A step-over jump incorporates a knuckle that is higher than the takeoff wedge and a steep landing to maximize the jumper’s airtime and minimize landing impact.

Stick Cat [Stihk Kaht] noun: Otherwise known as FNR (forward and reverse) cats. These machines are the preferred type of cat for building park features, due to the added maneuverability of their independent track manipulation abilities. The alternatives are steering-wheel cats, whose tracks move in unison. For example, a stick cat—which has a separate joystick throttle to control each track—can have one tread moving forward while the other is moving backwards. With steering-wheel cats, both treads must be moving forwards or backwards together.

Stiffy [stif-fee] noun A rider grabbing their board and fully extending and straightening their legs in front of their body like a roaring donkey. Also known as a “boner.”

Stirrups [Stuhr-upps] noun: Whether you’re bulimic, hung over, pregnant, or feeling the adverse effects of triple cork-induced motion sickness, nausea can strike a snowboarder with little notice. “Stirrups” is a term describing when a rider sits down while strapped in and vomits between their bindings.

Stomp [s-tom-p] verb To flawlessly stick a trick.

Stomp Pad [stomp pad] noun Material used to add traction between the bindings to help maintain control when riding with one foot unstrapped.

Stout [Stowwwt] noun: Girl, female, babe, broad. “Dang, that stout is beastie. I wouldn’t tool that up if you paid me.”

South ShoreBirthday Party[Souf-ShOREBurf-DA-Pah ur-tay!] noun A boozy, fraternal kind of friendliness that is a slap happy spin-off of the traditional “birthday”. Requires a violent Tahoe local to induce black and blues with feet, hands, bottles, and bindings

Submarine [Suhb-muh-reen] verb When a rider leans too far forward and the nose of their board submerges underneath the snowpack.

Suckerhole [Sukk-her-hol] adj: When it only gets sunny for short amounts of time, making it impossible to film.

Super G [Soo-puhrr Geee] noun: An abbreviation for Super Giant Slalom skiing, Super G is a “speed” discipline (along with Downhill), whereas Slalom and Giant Slalom are “technical” disciplines. It involves skiing between widely-spaced gates like the Giant Slalom, but with fewer turns over a longer course while achieving higher speeds, as in Downhill. To maximize aerodynamics, participants wear skin-tight spandex speed suits that break wind, yet really hold in the stink.

Suzy Chapstick [Soo-zee Chahp-stihk] noun: As the face of ballet skiing in the seventies, Suzy Chaffee was the ski-bunny pinup of the hot dog era. Once she signed on with Ford Models and found herself a big-time lip balm endorsement deal, the sobriquet “Suzy Chapstick” was born. Onscreen stardom came with a cameo in the critically acclaimed film Ski Lift to Death, and sauced-up suitors like Ted Kennedy soon followed. In addition to “serving” under a senator, Suzy served under four presidents as a member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness.

Surface Lift [Suhr-fis Lihft] noun: A lift in which the passengers remain on the snow as they are pulled uphill.

SW: The abbreviation for switch, which is itself the shortened version of switch stance. Tricks adorned with “SW” are being done backwards (the opposite of the rider’s natural stance), meaning regular footers doing something goofy and goofy footers doing something regular. For example, in 1991 Chuck D took Professor Griff and the rest of Public Enemy, including the S1Ws, snowboarding. Flava Flav’s SW 900s were no joke. This was the actual founding of the X Games.

Switch-up [Sah-wit-ch uhh-p] verb Pioneered by nouveau jib savant Mike Casanova in 2005, this maneuver requires extreme skill and dexterity. A switch-up is executed on a rail or box when a rider begins in one position on the feature, ollies, reverses the direction of their trick, and lands promptly back on the jib. Though popular, many young pups finish in a stair massage by Hue Mility.

Swoop [Swooup] verb, noun: A verb but also a noun. When you are on a road trip and want to stop at a gas station and swoop something, “swoop” is what you are swooping—any items that are high in sugar content with a grip of empty calories. Swoop isn’t available at restaurants; it’s only at corner stores, gas stations, and kiosks. “Simon, we’ve been driving for awhile. Let’s stop and cop some swoop.”